Ladies and gentleman of the class of 99: wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. But never mind, you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in twenty years, you will look back at photos of yourself and recallin a way you can't grasp now, how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future or worry but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewingbubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blind sides you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people that are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind. The race is long and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you wanna do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don't.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your living room. Read the directions, even if you don't follow them. Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

"Brother and sister together we'll make it through Some day your spirit will take you and guide you there I know you've been hurting, but I've been waiting to be there for you And I'll be there, just helping you out, whenever I can."

Get to know your parents. You never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They're your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew you when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you'll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you'll have a wealthyspouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your hair or by the time you're 40 it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

"Brother and sister together we'll make it through Some day your spirit will take you and guide you there I know you've been hurting, but I've been waiting to be there for you And I'll be there, just helping you out, whenever I can. Everybody's free. Oh yeah Everybody's free. Oh yea Everybody's free"

SUNSCREEN= A cream for protecting you against the bad effects of the sun on your skin and for preventing sunburns.

TIP= A quick little piece of advice.

PROVE= Pronounced /pru:v/ WHEREAS= But

MEANDERING= If a river meanders, it doesn’t flow straight, but turns and twists from left to right. If something such as your experience meanders, it goes through many different situations. A meandering experience is very varied and rich.

DISPENSE= Provide with, give. If you dispense with an advice, you give it.

YOUTH= Youth is the part of life when you are young. A youth is a young person, especially a young male in his late teens.

NEVER MIND= Don’t worry. In this context, the exact meaning of "but never mind" is "but it is useless to say this (because you’re not going to listen)".

FADE= When something fades, it deteriorates, disappears or becomes less intense.

RECALL= Remember.

IN A WAY YOU CAN’T GRASP NOW= In a way that you can’t understand now.

CHEW= When you eat food, you chew it with your teeth before swallowing it into your stomach.

BUBLE GUM= Chewing gum (a bubble is a sphere filled with air). In this context, it is better to say "chewing bubble gum" than "chewing chewing gum".

TROUBLES= Problems.

TO BLIND SIDE= The blind side is the side on which one's vision, especially the peripheral vision, is limited or obstructed. When driving a car, there’s a blind side on your side mirror, so a car may be trying to overtake you but you don’t see it and that’s dangerous. So the verb "to blind side" is to come unexpectedly in a dangerous way.

IDLE= If you are idle you are doing nothing. An idle day is a day when there is nothing to do.

SCARE= If something scares you, you are afraid of it. A scary thing makes you feel scared.

RECKLESS= Crareless, without care (-less = without).

PUT UP WITH= Tolerate.

FLOSS= Clean your teath with dental floss, which is a kind of string (usually covered in wax) to clean the parts between your teeth (see picture).

JEALOUSY= The act of being jealous. If you are jealous you feel possessive about the people you love and you think your relationship is in danger because they might love other people more than you. If you are jealous you suffer from jealousy.

COMPLIMENT= A nice thing a person says about another person. The opposite is INSULT. You PAY a compliment.

BANK STATEMENT= A letter from the bank giving you information about the money you have and your withdrawals (the money you take out) or deposits (the money you put in).

STRETCH= To strain your muscles (the opposite of to contract). Yoga helps you stretch your body to make your muscles more flexible, it’s good for your health and makes you feel better.

WANNA= Want to.

AT 22= When they were 22 years old.

PLENTY OF= A lot, usually more than you need (it suggests abundance).

THE FUNKY CHICKEN= A silly funny dance where you imitate a chicken. It is ridiculous but fun (see pictures)

WHATEVER YOU DO= It doesn’t matter what you do. Anything you do.

BERATE= Reproach, criticize, scold.

YOUR CHOICES ARE HALF CHANCE= When you take a decision, there’s a 50% chance that you will be right, and 50% that you will make a mistake.

OWN= Possess.

FOR GOOD= Forever.

SIBLINGS= brothers or sisters (a formal word).

STICK WITH YOU= Stay with you and support you.

BRIDGE THE GAPS= Connect things. A gap is an empty space, a separation. If you bridge a gap, you connect two things that are separated.

INALIENABLE TRUTHS= Undisputable truth. Something that nobody can take away from you or transfer to sombody else (in +alien + able)

PHILANDER= Act seductively but without serious intentions; deceive.

ELDERS= Your elders are the people older than you.

A TRUST FUND= A deposit of money you keep in a bank.

WEALTHY= Rich.

SPOUSE= Husband or wife.

EITHER ONE= This one or that one.

RUN OUT= If money, food, etc. runs out, or if you run out of it, all of it is consumed and there is nothing left.

MESS WITH= If you mess with something you treat it badly.

TO BUY AN ADVICE= To take/accept an advice.

NOSTALGIA= When you feel sad because you miss things from the past. DISPENSING NOSTALGIA= Being nostalgic.

THE DISPOSAL= The litter, the trash.

WIPING IT OFF= To wipe something off is to clean it with a piece of cloth (for liquids).